That is the plan, going forward, following the club’s joint announcement with New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR) to discontinue racing on the track to allow for a full reconstruction of the track and amenities.
In collaboration with NZTR, the planned project will deliver Hawke’s Bay Racing with a world-class racetrack and modern facilities that will secure the club’s future for years to come.
Hawke’s Bay Racing had been exploring the possibility of relocating the Hastings racecourse to another site but in August decided that this was no longer a viable option and so the future of Hawke’s Bay Racing will remain in its present site.
A joint statement to club members from Hawke’s Bay Racing Board chairman Eliot Cooper and chief executive Aaron Hamilton said: “Remaining at our current site presents the lowest long-term risk to Hawke’s Bay Racing but is not without its challenges.”
“Undertaking a complete reconstruction will require a lengthy time without racing at the Hastings racecourse.
“Hawke’s Bay Racing’s initial plan was to proceed with the 2025 Hawke’s Bay Spring Carnival before beginning the reconstruction.
“However, due to the growing challenges associated with the track’s performance and the need for a reliable racing surface, the club has made the joint decision with NZTR to expedite this project.”
NZTR chairman Russell Warwick and retiring NZTR chief executive Bruce Sharrock have both said they see Hastings as one of the country’s strategic racetracks going forward and are keen to see racing return to the venue as soon as possible.
Aaron Hamilton said club officials met with an Australian expert on racetracks this week and representatives from Hawke’s Bay Racing and NZTR will meet later this month, after which further information will be shared with the industry.
“There are a lot of working parts to work through but we are working pretty quickly to get things finalised,” Hamilton said.
“It comes down to money as well as the design of the track and we are working with NZTR on these things.
“We want to do it once and do it properly to secure the future of racing on the Hastings track.”
Although the course proper will be out of action during the reconstruction, the training tracks will still be operational, including the plough and No 1 grass for fast work and the inside of the course for slow work.
The next scheduled race meeting for Hastings, the Feilding Cup meeting on November 2, will now be run on the Trentham track. And the Hawke’s Bay meeting set down for Sunday November 17 will now become a Woodville-Pahīatua Racing Club licence and run on the Woodville track.
On a brighter note, last Saturday’s “Phantom Raceday” at the Hastings racecourse was an overwhelming success with a crowd estimated at more than 3000 on course.
All the hospitality rooms and marquees were well-patronised and Hamilton said everyone got behind the day to make it a success.
“It was an excellent day and it might be something that we will look at running again in the future,” he said.
Although there were no horses present, the on-course betting at Hastings exceeded $400,000, a sizeable proportion of this attributed to the 100 contestants in the New Zealand Punter of The Year competition.
By comparison, on-course betting at the Te Rapa racecourse, where the Hawke’s Bay Livamol Classic race meeting had been transferred to, totalled only $62,000.
Another success for reliable mare
Hastings-trained She’s So Reliable is certainly living up to her name with the mare recording her 19th first-three placing when taking out the $65,000 TAB Punter Of The Year 2200 at Te Rapa last Saturday.
The Reliable Man 7-year-old mare, prepared by John Bary, was recording her fourth win from 41 starts but has also chalked up nine seconds and six thirds.
Her latest success took her stake earnings to $151,000 for Auckland owners Andy and Celeste Hauraki, who paid $40,000 for her at the 2019 Karaka yearling sales.
She’s So Reliable is also very versatile. She won her maiden race over 1550m on a good track in April 2022 while her second success was over 2200m on a heavy-10 track at Hastings three months later.
Her third win was over 2100m on a heavy-8 track at Tauranga in November last year, while last Saturday’s win was recorded on a soft-6 track.
Apprentice jockey Jim Chung was aboard She’s So Reliable last Saturday and settled the mare into a perfect trail behind the leaders before angling around their heels on the home turn to take a clear lead.
Spring Queen started to mount a run after She’s So Reliable in the final 200m but the latter showed plenty of fight to hold on to win by a neck.
Debut winner aimed at Stakes race
Prosegur, a filly part-owned by Napier man Noel Lister, scored an impressive debut win at Taupō last Friday and now has the Group 2 $225,000 Eight Carat Stakes (1600m) at Ellerslie on Boxing Day as a major summer target.
The 3-year-old daughter of Proisir scored a long-neck win in an 1100m maiden race at Taupō and that followed a second and a fifth in two barrier trials earlier this season.
Lister, who has raced horses for 20 years, owns a 10% share in Prosegur. He is also a shareholder in the well-performed Karman Line and the so-far-unraced Scottish Mist. All three horses are prepared at Matamata by Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott.
Prosegur is out of the Cape Cross mare Cape Treasure and was a $55,000 purchase from last year’s Karaka yearling sales.
She is a half-sister to the three-race winner Now Is Now and Therapeutic (one win).
“I go through the Karaka sales catalogues each year and pick out the ones I like,” Lister said this week.
“I then sit down with Lance and Andrew and if they have bought one that I like, I’ll normally take a share in it.”
Prosegur is likely to have four more starts before the Eight Carat Stakes, the first of them in a $40,000 race at Tauranga on November 2.
Stakes win for former Hastings star
Former Hastings-trained 5-year-old Jimmysstar brought up his first stakes success when he made a one-act affair of the Listed $190,000 Weekend Hustler Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield last Saturday.
The Ciaron Maher-trained son of Per Incanto started his career from Guy Lowry’s Hastings stable, who prepared him to win two races from three starts last year before a majority shareholding in the horse sold to Australian interests and he was sent across the Tasman at the end of last year. He has now the winner of seven races from only 12 starts.
Sent out the $2.30 favourite, Jimmysstar was ridden with supreme confidence by jockey Blake Shinn, who was happy to travel wide throughout before giving the 5-year-old time to balance around the bend. The big chestnut unleashed a devastating turn of foot to race away for a two-and-a-quarter-length win.
Winning trainer Ciaron Maher knew the smart galloper was back to his best after an impressive fresh-up victory over 1100m at Caulfield last month and it was more of the same as Jimmysstar relished stepping out to 1400m.
“I was rapt with his first-up run to be able to do it over that trip [1100m],” Maher said.
“This is right back to his sweet spot and he’s always shown this sort of ability. Just mentally he wasn’t there so I was really hoping that this prep panned out this way to give him a bit of confidence. The team’s done a super job and Blake’s got an impeccable record on him.
“I said to Blake, if he’s the horse we think he is, just ride him where he lands and hopefully we’ll get over the top of them and fortunately that’s how it panned out.
“He’s just come on naturally. He’s just grown up and he is maturing, you know. He’s a Kiwi horse, we all know they get better with time.”
Maher indicated the Group 1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on November 16 was the likely feature spring target for Jimmysstar.
Jimmysstar is by Little Avondale Stud stallion Per Incanto out of Anniesstar, whose five wins included the Listed Feilding Gold Cup (2100m).
Melbourne Cup path for Auckland Cup winner
Auckland Thoroughbred Racing (ATR) has partnered with the Victoria Racing Club (VRC) to establish a new path towards next year’s Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) for the winner of the Group 2 Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Cup (3200m).
The victor of New Zealand’s most coveted staying race will now be exempt from any ballot for both the Listed Roy Higgins Quality (2600m) and Listed Andrew Ramsden Stakes (2800m), with the Flemington features offering ballot exemption into the Melbourne Cup (3200m) for the winner.
“This partnership with the Victoria Racing Club is a milestone for New Zealand racing,” ATR’s executive general manager of racing and operations Craig Baker said.
“Offering the Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Cup winner a pathway to the Lexus Melbourne Cup through the Lexus Roy Higgins and Lexus Andrew Ramsden races opens up a world of opportunities for our participants.”
This season’s Auckland Cup will be held on the newly created Champions Day at Ellerslie on Saturday, March 8.
